Men’s Cross Country
The men’s cross country team competed at the University of North Georgia Invitational on Sept. 12, finishing 9th out of 12 teams, many of them Division II squads.
“They are continuously working hard in their training. These early races are meant to allow the team to learn and grow,” said coach Remel Williams. “Coach Gary has done a fantastic job with not only the meet performances of the student athletes, but also with building and continuing positive relationships with the team. I look forward to seeing what they will accomplish throughout the rest of the season.”
Layton Bradford led the way for the Lions, finishing 14th overall among 111 runners in the 8K with a solid time of 27:40.8. Sophomore Brody Geckler and junior Grady Sanders were the next Lions to cross the finish line, with times of 30:27.4 (47th place) and 30:28.4 (48th place), respectively.
The team gets a few weeks off before its next meet on Oct. 3 in Fairburn, Georgia, for the Asics Invitational.
—Emilee Sanders
Women’s Cross Country
The women’s cross country team ran the 5k at the University of North Georgia Invite on Sept. 12. Senior Bella Caccamo was the first finisher for the Piedmont Lions, finishing 38th out of 126 runners with a new PR of 20:58:7.
“Preparation-wise was normal for training, mostly staying hydrated and eating healthy,” Caccamo said. “It went well for the women’s side —three of us got new personal records.”
Freshman Madison Worsham and Katie Payne joined Caccamo in establishing PRs, with times of 7:07.3 and 8:05.6, respectively, good for 61st and 88th place. Meanwhile, sprinters Allison Cantrell and Michelle Cates dipped their toes in endurance this week, completing their first 5K for the Lions, with times of 41:26 and 41:28, respectively.
The team will hit the trails again at Georgia Tech on Friday, Oct. 3, at the Asics Invitational.
—Hannah Thompson
Cycling
The Piedmont cycling team posted one of its strongest national showings to date at the 2025 USA Cycling Collegiate Track National Championships, held Sept. 11–13 at the Major Taylor Velodrome. The Lions finished fifth overall in the varsity team omnium with 551 points, highlighted by Reagen Pattishall’s fifth-place finish in the women’s individual omnium.
Pattishall, a sophomore from Demorest, delivered consistent results across the sprint and endurance disciplines. She clocked 12.771 seconds in the 200-meter sprint qualifier, advancing through the 1/16 final, and added points in the time trial, pursuit, and mass start events to close with 173 points.
Teammate El Bickham-Okoniewski also scored for the Lions, placing 31st in the women’s omnium with 40 points after competing in the team sprint, points race, scratch, and sprint rounds.
On the men’s side, Will Seitz paced Piedmont with a 19th-place omnium finish (103 points), including 46 points in the scratch race and 40 in the individual pursuit
Preston Eye followed close behind in 21st with 92 points, advancing out of sprint qualifying with an 11.454-second ride before falling in the 1/16 final.
Piedmont’s combined effort placed the Lions ahead of regional rivals such as Lindsey Wilson and Fort Lewis, solidifying a top-five varsity team finish. Only Marian, Milligan, Colorado Mesa, and SCAD Savannah outscored them.
Pattishall lets this push her to the upcoming races. “My current goals for the rest of the year is primarily heavy training to build towards 2026,” she said. “With Collegiate Track Nationals being the first big event of the year for Piedmont Cycling, I have no doubt my teammates will do amazing in all of their events going forward in 2025 and 2026! Go Lions!”
The Lions will return to Georgia next week before resuming their fall schedule with regional events at Dick Lane Velodrome.
Full championship results are available at track timing.live .
–Maggie Bishop
Women’s Soccer
The women’s soccer team was defeated on the road Sept. 10 at Brevard College, losing 2-0. The Lions fall to 4-2 after two consecutive losses.
The Lions’ offense sputtered with only six total shots. Brevard had 24 total shots with Piedmont senior goalkeepers Maggie Leger and Hannah Thompson combining for four saves.
“It’s never easy to lose two games in a row,” said sophomore forward Sydney Spitzer. “Oglethopre and Brevard are two very good teams and even though we did not win, the games taught us a lot about our team as a whole and what we need to do to win these games going forward. Over the last few days we have focused on recovering to get our minds and bodies right for conference play.”
Despite the significant shot difference, the shot on goal totals were relatively close, with only six of Brevard’s 24 finding the target and three of Piedmont’s six on net. All three Lions’ shots on goal came from different sources, with one from Paige Kluba, another from Molly Fitzpatrick, and one more from Sierra Judson.
The Lions open conference play on Sept. 21 at Maryville University.
—Max Peek
Men’s Soccer
The men’s soccer team split its past two games, losing to Pfeiffer University 2-1, and defeating Methodist University 3-1.
“In our past two games, we faced adversity through physical and mental toughness,” said senior goalkeeper Colin Sheeler. “They were a great test for our tough games to come, like Lagrange. Being able to keep our composure will be vital in the success of the team”.
Senior goalkeeper Bobby Wood saved six of the eight shots he faced during the 90 minutes. Piedmont went into halftime being down 2-0 but with a goal in the 70th minute by senior Colin Vogel they were able to get one goal back before losing. The game was very chippy, with eight yellow cards issued, four to each team.
“The first game was really tough mentally because Pfieffer played a lot of mind games in terms of time wasting and trash talk. So after the 2-1 loss, the team decided that we need to be more mentally tough and play our game instead of being influenced by the opponents,” said sophomore forward Juliann Pimentel. “For the game against Methodist we came in the there with a focused and centered mentality and played our game. Result was 3-1, which gives us a lot of confidence moving forward.”
Junior midfielder Davis Knight scored the Lions’ first goal of the game while also assisting their last goal of the game, leading the team with three points. With this win, Piedmont’s head coach Jimmy Stephens is now at 199 wins in his career.
Piedmont is now 2-2 on the season and will host Toccoa Falls College on Sept. 17 before opening conference play on Sept. 27.
—Sydney Spitzer
